The House passed the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2004. Meanwhile, …

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The US House of Representatives and Senate made separate moves on legislation intended to crack down on filesharing. In the House, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2004 was passed yesterday which could lead to file traders facing criminal charges. According to the legislation, individuals who "knowingly" distribute copyrighted materials could face jail time. The "knowingly" is a key difference from existing law, under which those who "willingly" distribute copyrighted files could be charged. Such infringement was already covered under the No Electronic Theft Act.

In addition to cracking down on illegal file-sharing, the legislation also encourages the Department of Justice to step up the enforcement of copyright infringement on the Internet, while also criminalizing the videotaping of movies in theaters. Opponents of the legislation had made a big effort at keeping the measure from going to the House floor for a vote, but ultimately failed.

On the other side of Capitol Hill, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to further discuss the controversial INDUCE Act on Thursday. Even after sponsor Sen. Orrin Hatch's (R-UT) promises to work with tech companies and other constituencies that could be affected by the law's passage, the resulting legislation is still widely seen as a disaster waiting to happen. It has been widely criticized not only by tech-savvy groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, but conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Conservative Union. In addition to greenlighting lawsuits against companies that manufacture devices or software that could be used for copyright infringement, the Induce Act would also repeal the Betamax decision.

If you are concerned about the possible passage of these and other laws that could drastically change the nature of copyright and consumers' fair use rights in the US, this would be an excellent time to contact your senators and congressional representative. A recent call-in campaign by Downhill Battle resulted in over 5,000 calls made to senators, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Action Center has resources available for concerned citizens to make their views known to their elected officials. As the director of a tech lobbying group pointed out, legislation isn't going to "put the genie of peer-to-peer technology back in the bottle."